Chopin Polish Songs

Frédéric Chopin's songs, in Polish, certainly stand to one side of his piano repertory. The 19 songs presented here were composed for personal use, addressed either to friends and lovers or to emigrés who, like Chopin, sympathized with Polish nationalist causes. There was no market for Polish-language songs in Paris, and these were not published until after the composer's death. Yet they are recognizably products of his muse, and their specialized quality sheds the light of insight onto the composer's piano music.

Chelsea Guo is a musical polymath who brings her dual gifts as pianist and soprano to this, her debut album. Hailed as a Chopin specialist during her prizewinning performances at the 2020 Chopin Piano Competition, Guo performs solo piano works that show all facets of the composer’s style, including the Barcarolle in F-sharp minor, Op. 60 and the four Op. 33 Mazurkas, in which Chopin took existing folk styles to new heights with his nuanced, ground-breaking approach. Chelsea Guo’s unique talents are to the fore in the three songs on this album, in which she simultaneously sings and plays; the programme also includes Chopin’s complete 24 Preludes, Op. 28, an extraordinary set composed in every available key.